How To Install Applications on Microsoft Terminal Servers Correctly

This article assumes that the Microsoft Terminal Services Licensing and other TS features are already configured. It concentrates only on new Terminal Servers and how to deploy Applications on those new Servers.

Many people new to Microsoft Terminal Services will not know how to correctly install various applications in order for them to function properly in a Terminal Services environment. The basic steps are:

1. Install Microsoft Windows Server (2000/2003/2008).
2. Do all the Security and Updates Patching.
3. Install Microsoft Terminal Services in Application Mode.
4. Enter the "Install" mode.
5. Install Applications.
6. Enter the "Execute" mode.
7. Join the Server to the Domain and the rest of the Terminal Servers.

I won't go into details for most of these steps.

To use the Terminal Server in Application Mode then you must have Microsoft Terminal Services Licensing service installed. If you are joining a new TS Server to the existing TS environment then you already most likely have this. Then you just have to install the Terminal Services role on the new server.

The next step is to go into the "Install Mode". This is done as follows:

• Open a command window (cmd).
• Type "change user /install" (without the quotes) and press ENTER.

Next you install the desired applications (e.g. Microsoft Office 2003 Enterprise, Crystal Reports, Cisco admin applications, etc)

Next you switch into the "Execute Mode". This is done as follows:

• Open a command window (cmd).
• Type "change user /execute" (without the quotes) and press ENTER.

IF you have installed the applications before installing Microsoft Terminal Services role then you will have to uninstall and install again following the steps outlined above. Hopefully this will help some of you avoid re-installing the applications by doing it correctly the first time.

For more info please see "When you toggle Terminal Services to Application Server mode, some programs may stop working" from Microsoft Help and Support.